1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ratcheting drivers of the type used for driving screws, nuts and the like and, in particular, to reversible ratcheting drivers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The present invention is an improvement of the reversible ratcheting screwdriver disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,852, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. That screwdriver has an elongated handle and a ratchet mechanism carried by a working end of the handle. The ratchet mechanism includes a gear engageable with a pair of pawls, the gear having an axial bore which receives one end of an associated shank. A control cap surrounds the ratchet mechanism and receives the shank through an opening therein, the cap being retained in place by a split ring and being rotatable to actuate a reversing mechanism to shift the ratchet mechanism among forward and reverse ratcheting modes and a non-ratcheting mode. The control cap has a knurled outer circumferential surface which has a maximum outer diameter substantially the same as that of the working end of the handle. The shank has a knurled portion so that a user, while gripping the handle with one hand, can spin the shank relative to the handle by grasping the knurled portion of the shank with the other hand. Such a spinning operation is utilized during low-resistance portions of the driving operation of an associated fastener, such as during the early stages of tightening a fastener or the late stages of loosening a fastener.
This prior arrangement is inconvenient, because it requires that the user employ both hands in order to effect the spinning operation of the shank. Also, the prior ratcheting screwdriver has a standard elongated straight handle. This arrangement can make it difficult and uncomfortable for the user to apply high torquing forces to an associated fastener or other type of workpiece, since it affords a very small moment arm for the torquing force application. Also, because this configuration requires the user's wrist to be extended in an unnatural manner, applications which require repeated operations over long periods of time can be physically tiring and/or painful for a user's wrist.